Flu shots are a $3 Billion a year business that is so profitable that the makers can even make it profitable for discount drug stores to push them. But is that shot of 99% water of any real value to you?

I’d like you to consider a few things and then decide for yourself.

First and foremost, one of the things that gets lost in the hype is that flu shots are not antivirals – they are vaccines. They have no direct effect on influenza viruses whatsoever. The components in these shots are designed to create a reaction in your immune system, and the weaker your immune system, the less they do. So they work the least for the people who need them most.

To compensate for this, Sanofi Pasteur created a vaccine for seniors with 4 times the active elements – Fluzone High Dose. But let’s go back to the idea that these shots cause a reaction in your immune system and take a look at whether or not you want 4 times as much of some of the mostly hidden reactions theses drugs cause.

Almost all vaccines contains heavy metals; mercury (“thimerosal”) as a preservative and aluminum as a “response enhancer” or adjuvant. These metals alone can suppress and alter your immune system and brain function because they are neurotoxins.

Foreign RNA/DNA from the animal base these vaccines are made from can cause intense reactions in some people, including the onset of autoimmune diseases.

Vaccines can trigger allergic reactions because of these same animal elements – primarily proteins – being injected directly into your system instead of being broken down by your digestive system.

Vaccines can also pose an immediate risk to your cardiovascular system. A 2007 study published in Annals of Medicine (1)concluded “Abnormalities in arterial function and LDL oxidation may persist for at least 2 weeks after a slight inflammatory reaction induced by influenza vaccination.”

The bottom line is that people get sick and die from these vaccines. As an example, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Australian “public health experts have called for an independent body to monitor drug safety after it emerged thatyoung children were more likely to end up in hospitals because of side effects from a flu vaccine than they were from the disease itself.

So what can you do instead? Manage your Vitamin D levels first and foremost.

A study at the Oregon State University and the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center discovered that Vitamin D is necessary for the activation of our “innate immune system”, a primal, first line of defense system that is controlled by what used to be thought of as “junk” DNA. The study, published in BMC Genomics, (2) showed that Vitamin D is necessary for the activation of a genetic element that generates a chemical response which not only kills pathogens but has additional biological roles as well.

Vitamin D3 (the form created naturally and used by humans) is created when UV radiation reacts with your skin and becomes the hormone 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-D) once it is activated in the kidneys. And, like most hormones, 1,25-D is involved in a multitude of body processes. Not only does it activate the innate immune system mentioned above, it also modulates the adaptive immune system which mounts a defense against a myriad of pathogens and then retains antibodies that create immunity to those pathogens in the future.

How does an optimal Vitamin D3 level compare with a Flu Shot? Here’s an example:

Dr. John J. Cannell was a psychiatrist at Atascadero State Hospital in California. In 2005, an influenza A epidemic broke out in the hospital. One by one, each ward became infected. Patients came down with chills, fever, cough, and severe body aches. Only one ward remained free of infection: Dr. Cannell’s.

Why? His patients intermingled with patients from other wards. And they were not noticeably different in terms of age, health, or medical treatment. The only difference? Dr. Cannell’s patients had been receiving a daily dose of Vitamin D for several months. That’s it – and not one of them caught the flu! Compare that with the ~43% success rate of flu vaccines last year. This experience led him to research and publish a paper on epidemic influenza and Vitamin D. (3)